Housing project officially placed on Nov. ballot

ESCONDIDO  The Escondido City Council formally voted Wednesday night to place a ballot measure that would allow a controversial housing development to be built on the site of the former Escondido Country Club.

During the meeting, council members also received a staff report on the initiative on "The Lakes Specific Plan," which they requested last month after developer Michael Schlesinger's measure qualified for the November ballot.

Schlesinger, owner of Beverly Hills-based Stuck in the Rough, bought the north Escondido property in 2012, closed the 50-year-old country club and golf course, and announced plans to build the housing development. The proposal angered country club area residents, some of whom say their homes will lose value.

The city's report, which includes background on the conflict between the developer, residents and the city, was criticized by representatives for the developer as biased and misleading.

"More than half of the report, 26 of the 36 pages, is focused on information that has nothing to do with the imitative," said former state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, who is a representative for the developer.

The report also detailed the projected impacts of the development on issues such as open space, city schools and public safety.

Mayor Sam Abed defended the city's report saying that the history of the site was an important component and that the document would help inform voters on the initiative.

"I take a little bit of offense when Mr. Hollingsworth says the history of the Country Club is irrelevant," Abed said. "This is very relevant. We are talking about communities. We are talking about 2,200 families living there."

In a separate report, the developer details the project's economic benefits, including annual revenues for the city's general fund of $639,000.